Voices in the Sky–A Book of Poems
by Nancy L. Davis
42 poems ~ 71 pages
Price: $15.00
Cover Art by K. VonDornBanks
Cover Design by Faris Kabaklic
Cover Layout by Jennifer Dotson
Publisher: Highland Park Poetry
ISBN-13: 979-8-9997122-1-9
To Order: www.Amazon.com or www.highlandparkpoetry.org
Reviewed by Michael Escoubas
Among the many good things encountered as I danced my way through Voices in the Sky, was Nancy Davis’s frequent mention of “memories.” It is as if she decided to “drop anchor,” to pause as one taking communion in church, and while recumbent, give voice to what her voyage has meant. After all we are talking about “voices” in the sky. Sky, for me, represents the spirit’s realm. I sensed a montage of memories being created as pen met paper. These are heart poems. These are poems penned by a mature spirit. Underlying it all … this poet’s journey is far from finished. It is not surprising that Voices won the coveted 2026 Prairie State Poetry Prize.
Voices in the Sky has a three part structure: I. “Her funeral filled the road;” II. Shadow Waltzing; III. Mystics Dancing at Dusk.
“Her funeral filled the road,” is a direct quote from a Seamus Heaney poem entitled, “The Lift.” Heaney’s poem is filled with warmth for those who grieve. This empathy is not lost on Davis. The “Lake House” which leads the collection exudes with memories:
It happens mounting the stairs, on the landing, blue shards of light
refracting stained glass hanging in the window; four steps more,
when memory jolts.
… … …
This house holds memories that cluster and implode, storied
occasions gathered in corners, tales rising like gulls
on wind drafts.
“Asphodel Fields” visits the place where her father is buried. In a touch of irony, her mother is buried in a place “separate” from her father, “clear across the way.” I felt a note of sadness. The realization that things were not always the best among those we love the most. I was moved by:
Connected through blood
and bone, we come alone to witness
wreckage: a solitary pilgrimage
of memory and grief, tempting lilies
in some distant field, their tapered
leaves like arms, to cradle us
each tenderly
in sleep.
With tone gently established, the fourteen remaining poems open a rich spiritual harvest. Nancy’s harvest is vivid; spiced with moods accessible only through the medium of poetry. Poetry is about truth. Nancy Davis understands this. She proves it through the love that infills her work.
Moving into Part II–Shadow Waltzing, the poet reflects on attitudes that for her, have lived too long in the shadows. “Sacrosanct” took me into the shadows of resolute Puritans who braved the dangers of crossing the sea, but whose principles required complete agreement or death. Their God an ungovernable beast. Within this section’s thirteen poems, Davis responds to themes of conscious and social order. “Ghosts” engages the stark cruelty of war in Ukraine. “Salvage Yard: Children of the 21st Century, a Portrait,” paints a vivid death-picture where children are found “face down in the Rio Grande / ancient river of life and death / swift currents of injustice.” I noted earlier in this review that poetry is about truth. My heart felt weighted down with Nancy’s pathos dwelling in the shadows.
Throughout the collection Nancy’s muse keeps her attuned to voices of the spirit which animate her life and therefore her poetry. It is as if somber tones feed her creative life. As poet Deborah Nash Ott, has observed, “There is a yearning in her lines … for a time when the land was unsullied and welcoming.” “Comfort in the Time of Social Distancing,” (Part III–Mystics Dancing at Dusk), reveals the poet’s heroic effort to rise above restrictions imposed by Covid 19:
I thought I heard an owl today
it could have been a
whippoorwill
exotic enough in either
case to give my day the lift
it needs
As the poem continues, Nancy hears music gifted to a determined heart, a heart focused on finding good in hard circumstances:
when evening comes
I sit as well, listen
for nightfall’s chorus
last notes of robins
finches, cardinals
erupt in sonorous spasms
voices in the sky
There is music within these poems. There is truth within these poems. Best of all, these poems reveal the heart of a truly gifted poet … a poet worth listening to.
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